Saturday, November 24, 2001
[ UH BASKETBALL ]
Rainbows improve HILO >> It was a home game away from home and the Hawaii basketball team made the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium its own yesterday.
to 3-0 with victory
over Mercer
UH gets 19 points from Burneika
to reach Big Island Invitational semifinalsBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.com
In the Rainbows' first neighbor island tournament appearance, they remained undefeated for the season, downing Mercer 89-72 in the Big Island Invitational. Senior forward Mindaugas Burneika led five teammates in double figures with 19 as Hawaii improved to 3-0.
The Rainbows face former Western Athletic Conference rival Colorado State in today's 5 p.m. semifinal. The Rams (5-0) used a 31-17 first half to roll past South Carolina State 66-48 in an earlier game yesterday.
"They're going to be our toughest game yet," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said of the Rams. "You saw what they did today. Obviously, they're a pretty good team."
In the other championship semifinal at 7:30 p.m., Weber State plays Wisconsin. The Wildcats (2-1) edged Louisiana State 75-74 in overtime; the Badgers stopped host Hawaii-Hilo 78-62, handing the Vulcans their 22nd consecutive loss in this event.
Today's consolation games begin at noon, with South Carolina State (0-2) facing Mercer (0-3). In the 2:30 p.m. game, LSU (2-1) meets Hawaii-Hilo (2-1).Hawaii 89, Mercer 72: The Rainbows' first road trip of the year saw freshman Milos Zivanovic score his first points in a Hawaii uniform.
His first basket couldn't have come at a better time. Mercer had just cut a 22-point deficit to 12 with 3:26 left. Will Emerson's 3-pointer had closed the gap to 75-63 when Zivanovic atoned for two typical freshman turnovers with a basket and free throw.
His 3-point play put Hawaii back up by 15. Another 3-pointer by Emerson made it a 12-point game; another basket by Zivanovic gave the Rainbows a 14-point cushion with 2:31 remaining.
The Bears never threatened again.
"I did not know the score," Zivanovic said. "I was just playing hard and wanted to give it 100 percent. It was a nice feeling to score my first points. And the crowd support was good."
Despite being on the road, the Rainbows still ruled with Big Island fans.
"It's still a road game, but it was nice to have the fans behind us," said sophomore guard Carl English, who finished with 14 points. "When they got it to 12 ... we were slacking, out of sync. We've got to learn to finish a game, to put a team away."
They'll get a chance against a very good Colorado State squad.
"I'm expecting a win," said Zivanovic. "A loss would be unacceptable."
In a sluggish first half, the Rainbows used 10-for-13 free-throw shooting to pull away.
Hawaii opened on a 7-0 run, but Mercer countered with a 10-0 spurt. The Rainbows trailed 19-15 with 8:23 left before the effects of Thanksgiving dinner appeared to wear off.
Mindaugas Burneika hit his second 3-pointer of the half to key an 11-0 run as UH took the lead for good at 26-19. Mike McIntyre had two baskets during the streak, and added two more to finish with eight points at intermission.
Keeping the Bears in the game was Aleem Muhammad, who hit on seven of his eight field-goal attempts, including two 3-pointers, for 16 points.Hawaii adjusted its defense and McIntyre held Muhammad to six points after half. Brad Arthur was the only other Mercer player in double figures with 10.
Phil Martin finished with 15 for Hawaii. McIntyre added 14, and Zivanovic and Haim Shimonovich scored 12.
Junior guard Mark Campbell had 11 assists as Hawaii continued to play selfless ball. The Rainbows produced 26 assists on their 33 field goals; they have 67 assists on 87 field goals for the year.
Wisconsin 78, Hawaii-Hilo 62: It was enough to drive second-year Vulcan coach Jeff Law crazy. Hilo had a chance to take a lead into the locker room against the Big Ten's Badgers; and all the Vulcans had to do was stop Wisconsin for the final five seconds.
They couldn't.
Wisconsin's Freddie Owens drove the length of the court in four seconds, weaving through the token Hilo defense for a layup at the buzzer and a 31-30 halftime lead.
It told the story of the game. The Vulcans came close but not close enough, losing for the first time this season.
"I almost broke my hand on the blackboard," said Law, a former Rainbow assistant, of his halftime discussion with the team. "We needed some more rebounding and to make better decisions.
"It's not like they blew us out, but we got into a big lull and they kept pulling away."
Hilo stayed close until midway through the second half. Two 3-pointers by David LaQua pulled the Vulcans to 52-48 with 11:11 remaining.
Wisconsin answered with a 7-0 run and Hilo never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
Charlie Wills and Kirk Penney each had 15 for the Badgers. Devin Harris and Owens finished with 13.
Derek Mgbeke led the Vulcans with 15, while Brady Hyde had 14. Scott Prather finished with 10, 13 points below his average.
The Badgers stepped it up on the boards in the second half, grabbing 21 to the Vulcans' 12. Wisconsin finished with a 41-29 edge for the game
Weber State 75, LSU 74 OT: Stephan Bachmann had eight of his team's 13 points in the extra period, including the game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Bachmann finished with 12 points in a game the Wildcats could have won in regulation. Chris Woods missed both free-throw attempts with seven seconds left to send the game into overtime tied at 62.
Woods shared game-high honors with 20 points and grabbed 12 of his team's 34 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Nic Sparrow came off the bench for 13 points and John Hamilton added 11.
For the Tigers, Ronald Dupree had 20 points and Torris Bright 16. Also in double figures were Collis Temple (15) and Antonio Hudson (12).
Colorado State 66, South Carolina State 48: Brian Green scored 15 points and Matt Nelson 12 as the Bulldogs had a tough time stopping the Rams' big men.
Green, a 6-8 sophomore forward, hit six of his 10 shots from the floor while Nelson, a 7-foot freshman, was 5 of 7.
LaRon Mapp came off the bench for SCS to score 15 points. Hassan Diabi added 11.
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